Phillies Embarrassed By Mets In Series Opener, Lose 13-3
Aug 25, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) scores a run on New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) (not pictured) RBI double against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fifth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Another disappointing performance in Queens for the Phillies.
After taking five of six at home and holding a seven-game lead for first place in the division, the Phillies kicked off their three-game series against the Mets with a terrible performance, losing 13-3 after leading at one point 3-0. It’s the eighth consecutive loss at Citi Field for the Phillies, counting last year’s postseason series.
Cristopher Sanchez was on the mound, and despite a stellar first three innings of work, his night was far from the usual Sanchez. Over 5.1 innings of work, Sanchez allowed eight hits and five earned runs (six overall), walking three and striking out only four batters.
Trea Turner led off the night in a big way, smoking a ball to left-center field past a diving Tyrone Taylor going to the wall for a leadoff triple. Turner didn’t stay at third for long as Kyle Schwarber grounded out to second base, scoring Turner, making it 1-0 Phillies.
Bryce Harper grounded out, and J.T. Realmuto flew out, ending the top of the first. In the bottom half of the inning, the Mets got the leadoff man on, thanks to a bad throw from Turner, which allowed Francisco Lindor to reach first. Sanchez then got Soto to ground out and picked up back-to-back strikeouts against Starling Marte and Pete Alonso.
Phillies’ offense threatened once again in the top of the second after Brandon Marsh walked and Max Kepler floated a single to right to put two runners on with only one out. Mets’ starter Kodai Senga then picked up a huge strikeout against former Met Harrison Bader for one out and got Bryson Stott to fly out to right to end the inning.
Sanchez worked a 1-2-3 scoreless second thanks to a pair of groundouts. In the third, Schwarber walked, and Harper singled, putting runners on second and third with one out. Realmuto struck out, bringing Alec Bohm to the plate. On the fourth pitch of his at-bat, Bohm smoked a single to right field, scoring both Schwarber and Harper, making it 3-0 Phillies.
With Bohm on first, Marsh doubled down the right field line, putting runners on second and third again. However, Kepler lined out to center to end the inning.
Sanchez kicked off the bottom of the third with a strikeout to Jeff McNeil and picked up two more outs on a groundout and a lineout to send the Mets down 1-2-3 again. In the top of the fourth, Bader singled to lead off the inning and Stott walked, putting two runners on for the top of the Phillies lineup. Turner flew out to left for one out, and Schwarber grounded into a force out for out number two. Harper dug in with runners on the corners and two outs, but struck out on four pitches to end the inning.
Without a hit heading into the bottom of the fourth, Soto changed that, smashing a single to right. Marte then grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, getting Sanchez two quick outs to start the inning. However, the remainder of the inning did not go Sanchez’s way.
Alonso smoked a single to left and advanced to second on a balk and to third on a wild pitch. Mark Vientos then doubled down the left field line, scoring Alonso, making it 3-1 Phillies. Brandon Nimmo then smoked a single to right, scoring Vientos from second to double the Mets’ runs to two.
Tyrone Taylor walked, putting two runners on for McNeil, who dribbled a ball to left field, scoring another run to tie the game at three. Luis Torrens then flew out to right, ending the inning, but the damage had already been done.
Realmuto led off the fifth with a hit by pitch, and that ended Senga’s night after four innings of work. Jose Castillo came on in relief for Senga and got Bohm to ground into a double play, and Marsh grounded out as well on the first pitch he saw to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Mets took the lead. Lindor flew out to right to lead off the inning, but Soto walked, putting a runner on. He then advanced to second on a misplayed throw from Harper after he got caught in a rundown. Marte then walked, putting two runners on for Alonso. After a meeting at the mound, Sanchez sent Alonso down on strikes for out number two. With two outs, Vientos stepped up, and he delivered once again with another double, this time down the right field line to make it 4-3 Mets.
Taylor Rogers came on in relief for the Mets and made quick work of the Phillies, sending them down 1-2-3 with a pair of lineouts and a groundout. Taylor led off the bottom of the sixth with a double down the left field line, but Sanchez got McNeil to pop out to second for one out. Torrens was up next, and he smoked an RBI double to right-center to double the Mets’ lead to two, ending Sanchez’s night in the process.
David Robertson came on for Sanchez, and right away picked up a huge strikeout against Lindor. Soto worked a walk putting two runners on for Marte, and he singled back up the middle to make it 6-3 Mets. Robertson then got Alonso to ground out to third to end the inning.
With the top of the lineup back up in the seventh, the Phillies needed runs and fast. However, that didn’t happen as Turner and Schwarber flew out and Harper struck out looking to end the inning.
Jordan Romano came on in relief in the seventh and may have put the nail in the coffin for his time with the Phillies. He led off the inning, hitting Vientos in the back, and then walked Nimmo, putting two runners on. Taylor then singled to left, loading the bases for McNeil. McNeil lifted a fly ball to right, scoring a run on a sac fly to make it 7-3.
Torrens dug in next with two runners on, and he sent one deep into right-center field for a three-run home run to blow the game open, making it 10-3 Mets. Romano then struck out Lindor and Soto to end the inning, but the damage was already done.
The Phillies went down in order for the fourth straight inning, with Realmuto and Bohm flying out and Marsh going down on strikes looking. Joe Ross was next out of the bullpen, but he hit Marte on the first pitch he threw. Alosno then smoked a fly ball to right, but it was caught at the wall for the first out of the inning, but a walk to Brett Baty put two runners on. Nimmo flew out to right for the second out, but Taylor smoked a single to left for his third hit of the night, making it 11-3 Mets.
The runs didn’t stop there, as McNeil grounded a single to right, bringing another run in. Torrens was up next, and he drove in his fifth RBI of the night on a bloop single to run, increasing the Mets’ lead to 10. Ross then got Lindor to strike out to end the inning.
Down to their last three outs and down 10 runs, the Phillies were unable to make a comeback. Kepler flew out to left for the first out, and Bader walked to put a runner on first for the first time since the fifth inning. Stott then lined out to right for out number two, and Turner grounded out to second to end the game, with the Mets winning 13-3.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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